President Donald Trump says the United States Navy will begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz “immediately” after peace talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan ended without an agreement. Trump, in a social media post on Sunday, accused Iran of “extortion” and said the US Navy would also hunt down and interdict ships in international waters that have paid Iran a toll to traverse the strait. He said US forces will also begin clearing mines that he says Iran placed in the strait.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned on Sunday that civilian vessels can cross the strait in compliance with “specific regulations”, but that military vessels approaching the strait would be considered in violation of the ceasefire and “dealt with severely”. Traffic through the narrow strait has slowed to a trickle, nearly paralysing about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments and sending shock waves through the global economy. Trump’s comments have raised concerns about the status of the fragile two-week ceasefire.
Trump called Iran’s control over the waterway “world extortion” in his social media post and added that any Iranian forces who fire at US forces or “peaceful vessels” would be “BLOWN TO HELL”. He added that the blockade would involve unspecified “other countries”, and he would not allow Iran to benefit from the closure of the strait. Trump also stated in his social media post that the US Navy would interdict “every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran”.
Democratic lawmakers in the US have criticised Trump’s comments. Iran has continued to send its own ships through the strait since the war began and has allowed a handful of vessels from other countries to pass through. Iranian officials have also discussed setting up a toll system after the fighting ends, under which users would pay Iran a fee to cross the strait.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
